Sir Alex Ferguson: I don't care if we lose to Chelsea

Posted Sunday, September 18, 2011 by Dailystar.co.uk

Sir Alex Ferguson: I don't care if we lose to Chelsea
Above: Sir Alex Ferguson wants to win the title yet again

Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted that losing today’s big battle against Chelsea AND next month’s derby with local rivals City would not be a disaster.

It’s hard to imagine the fiercely-competitive Man United boss even contemplating defeat in any game.

But Fergie also claimed that losing at Wolves last season was “a good thing” for United.

And ahead of today’s Old Trafford showdown the United chief said: “This match against Chelsea and the Manchester City game in October are important and could be significant.

“But I’d rather lose them and win the other games. There’s no doubt about that because all you want to do is win the league – no matter how you do it.

“It’s about getting 83 points. I’m sticking with that as my target to win the league – definitely.

“People are talking about 90 points being needed – but there’s no chance.”

And Fergie also explained how United’s first league defeat last season – away at Wolves – was good for his squad.

He added: “When I look back to last season and losing to Wolves, which ended our unbeaten record, I thought that was a good thing for us. It brought us back down to earth after our focus had been on not losing.

“We’d had a lot of draws away from home and that defeat made us concentrate on winning – rather than just not losing them.

“We went on a good run after that so in that respect, losing was a good thing for us.”

But Fergie, of course, would prefer to see his team maintain their 100 per cent success rate in the league.

And he goes into this afternoon’s battle believing red-hot Wayne Rooney is relishing being one of the team’s senior players.

England striker Rooney has already scored eight times this season and Fergie said: “He is playing with confidence and is at an age where he is maturing.

“We have lost experienced players in Paul Scholes, Gary Neville, Edwin van der Sar, John O’Shea and Wes Brown.

And even Owen Hargreaves, despite not playing a lot of games for us, was 29 with a lot of experience.

“Wayne is only 25 – but he is relishing his role as one of the more senior players in the squad.

“He is showing that maturity and is enjoying his football.”

Fergie dismissed the Fernando Torres issue at Chelsea, where the £50million striker is clearly lacking the sort of confidence that Rooney has in abundance at the moment.

Instead, the United boss said: “I’m more interested in who plays up front for them. It could be Torres, Nicolas Anelka or Daniel Sturridge.

“And then there is the question of whether Didier Drogba will be fit. But I think it will be Torres or Anelka.”

Fergie is clearly confident United will cope with whoever is thrown at them – and if they don’t, his attitude will be that it’s not the end of the world.